Entrepreneurs in the News

The Goods is focused exclusively on products and services for business owners. We won't ignore the latest netbook or the hottest smartphone, but we'll also examine the services, software, and Web-based tools that can help make your business succeed. Nadine Heintz, a senior editor at Inc., edits The Goods, as well as Quick Hits. Send suggestions, comments, and deals to nheintz@inc.com.

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Andy Warhol's 200 One Dollar Bills recently sold at auction for an impressive $43.7 million, thanks, in part, to its provenance: The painting's original owner was Robert Scull, a New York City taxi tycoon credited as one of the first major collectors of contemporary art. "He wasn't terribly intellectual, but he related to the work and bought from his gut," says E.J. Vaughn, who filmed a documentary about Scull in 1973….Lance Armstrong has launched a commercial real estate firm, CSE Realty Partners, in Austin. Lance Sallis, who heads the operation, says he and Armstrong developed the idea during the course of numerous bike rides together. Despite overbuilding in Texas, Sallis says, "the economy there is relatively strong, so we see a lot of opportunity."…Vegan footwear company TOMS Shoes celebrated the launch of its new upscale line at a party at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. "We hope people will come here to buy our shoes, then donate money to help fight foot disease," said founder Blake Mycoskie before joining a game of Ping-Pong at the lively fete….Magic Johnson Enterprises is teaming with the TCW Leveraged Finance Group to provide financing and management advice to midsize companies. "Now is an opportune time to help other entrepreneurs," wrote Johnson in an e-mail….Elmer Winter, co-founder of the Milwaukee-based staffing agency Manpower, has died at 97. Winter retired in the 1970s, but he still drove to the office in a red sports car until shortly before his death. "He helped us remember the importance of what we do for a living, which is finding people jobs," says current CEO Jeff Joerres.